Candy
by tectrices
Summary: //RemusTonks// It's just candy, but Tonks wants Remus to understand that it's really so much more.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

**-A/N:** This was my first foray into Remus/Tonks fic, written in 07, I think. It's just a quick piece - I hope everyone enjoys it! Concrit greatly appreciated.

**Title:** Candy  
**Character(s)/Pairing:** Remus/Tonks  
**Word Count:** 1045  


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Some days are bad. Some days are worse than others. And some days are those wretched, feel-like-gunk-on-the-bottom-of-the-world's-shoe, crawl-under-a-rock, rain cloud-over-the-head, HORRIBLE sort of days.

Nymphadora Tonks had been blessed with one of those days.

It wasn't as though she hadn't tried to be chipper. She'd put on an eager smile and tried as hard as she could to start off the day fresh. But then everything had gone wrong, she'd lost her lunch, fallen into a mud hole, been landed with an Everest of paper work, and was reminded again - by the blonde witch who worked the sandwhich counter - that her social life was all but nonexistent. If she hadn't already been convinced that the world was against her, that day would have damn well proven it.

And so, after all of that, it was with weary footsteps that she trudged home to her dingy flat - climbing the rickety staircase with a resigned dignity that she didn't often show. When she opened the door and found Remus Lupin sleeping at her little kitchen table, she nearly screamed. Holding back a choked sob, she walked over and sat down across from her.

The noise seemed to be enough to rouse him, and drearily he lifted his head, blinking sleep from his eyes. Tonks looked at him miserably. "Wotcher, Remus."

He winced. "Er... Hello, Tonks, I - "

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment?"

He winced again. Then he sighed and she noticed that he looked just about as tired as she did. No, worse - his clothes were torn slightly, obviously worse for wear. His face was lined and he looked older than she ever remembered seeing him. Suddenly she wished her greeting hadn't been quite so harsh.

"I'm sorry - I suppose I should have given you some sort of warning. I... I didn't expect to be returning to London for quite some time. But I..." He swallowed, nervously she thought, and turned his head away. "I needed a little... vacation."

Concern overrode anger. "Remus, what happened? Are you all right?"

He waved her worry away. "Don't worry about me; I'm quite fine." Dismissive. She didn't have the strength to force it out of him.

"Oh, right, of course. You look just _fabulous_."

Remus sighed again. "Look, Tonks, I - "

"Save it." She glared at him, eyes burning. "You obviously needed a place to stay, and I have a couch that's more than lumpy enough for even someone as masochistic as you are."

He didn't respond. So they sat there in silence, the air heavy between them. Why had he come? It certainly wasn't to try to rekindle anything - not, of course, that she held any hope that he'd come to her on his own. He was a stubborn man when he wanted to be - especially when he thought he was right - and he had made his stance on the issue abundantly clear.

After a long moment of that tense, awkward silence, he pulled a bag from his coat - which she just noticed he had yet to take off - pocket and set it on the table. "Candy?" he asked lightly, gesturing towards the bag.

As absurd as it was, she figured that she might as well have some as not. At least she'd know that it was save if it came from him. "Yeah, all right."

She reached in and grabbed a big handful. She popped a few in her mouth - candy coated chocolate, and actually pretty good. The little balls were colorful: a veritable rainbow of blues and greens and mauves and browns. She picked up a yellow one.

"Like it?" Remus asked. "I picked it up at a muggle shop before I came. I haven't had any sweets for a long time."

She nodded. "Pretty good, I guess. Very... colorful."

He smiled for the first time since the visit had started. "Part of the appeal, naturally."

Tonks looked at him sharply. "You like your candy colorful, then?"

"I suppose so. Not as... elegant as a bar of plain chocolate perhaps, but a bit more fun."

"Not nearly as elegant. Much more childish. You seem too old to be eating candy like this, Remus."

He looked up and suddenly realized that she wasn't talking about candy. She crossed her arms and looked at him sternly, trying to hide the hurt in her eyes. Could he even imagine how glad she was to see he was safe? Did he even know how much she still cared, even after how hard he had worked to insure she didn't? Didn't he know what his mere presence did to her?

Before he could respond, she continued. "I don't see anything wrong with it, though. Maybe it's not quite so nice as other candy, but it's always sweet. Even if you put it up for months, the flavor won't fade." She picked up a green piece and twisted it between two fingers before popping it into her mouth. "Always tastes the same."

Remus obviously didn't like where the conversation was going. "Sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad."

She shrugged. "Sure. This isn't my favorite anyway - I prefer my candy to be old and dangerous."

His mouth was set in a grim line. "I'm sure Honeydukes has some aged chocolate you'd be daring enough to try." But then he sighed and looked down, running a hand through his greying hair. "Tonks... You don't - "

"No, I understand perfectly Remus." She ate a few more pieces. "It's just candy."

He picked up the bag and rummaged through it before finally finding what he had apparently been looking for. He smiled and help up a piece colored neon pink. "My favorite," he said, before setting it right in front of Tonks. "You're right," he said, standing up and looking at her, eyes full of hidden warmth. She thought for a moment that he might kiss her. "It's just candy."

He pushed in his chair. "I know where the blankets are, so I'll make up a quick bed myself. Goodnight, Tonks."

"Yeah," she said quietly, watching him walk into the next room. She picked up the pink candy, eyes brimming over with tears. "Goodnight."

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Feedback and reviews - always greatly appreciated! Thanks very much for reading.


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